Imara, the start-up which promised the lithium-ion batteries that last longer and are better than other batteries when regarding the environment, was released this week to the public. To start with, the new batteries will be used in power tools and outdoor power equipment, such as lawn mowers or snow blowers.

Yet, the lithium-ion batteries will be available to sell early next year. In addition, Imara also hopes to dispatch of them by the end of 2009. As Imara is now entering the crowded field, the previously called Lion Cell company also hopes to use the product as to run electric cars in the next three to seven years.

Jeff Depew, Imara’s chief executive, stated that their expectations are connected to the market, which is probably going to increase tragically. He added that the lithium-ion batteries “have much more energy density and run time and you can charge them a lot more times,” comparing them with the batteries used today.

Depew was the one who had detected this battery technology in 2004, at the Stanford Research Institute. While Bill Clinton was still the president of the United States, the researchers put the idea of this new battery into development, considering also the fact that it may work for the future vehicles.

Yet, the Bush administration stopped the funds for the project and the job had to remain only a sketch.

Depew, who had worked on rechargeable batteries at General Electric and on the OnStar car device at General Motors, started out by searching through the technologies at Stanford and believed that the lithium-ion batteries might represent a promising idea.

The chief executive researched the idea and the project for almost two years until he founded Imara in 2006. His gains reached to $19 million from venture capital firms Nth Power and, appropriately, Battery Ventures.